Red Riding Hood....

Shopping...
An activity I never really liked...
Unless, of course, I go with someone like Essie my Lassie...
Call it a genetic malfunction or something, but a roomful of clothes scares me silly.
Then again, maybe it's just my training as a 'Mariam' at home, thus, roomful of clothes means endless hours of ironing...

Lassie and I were yearning desperately for a Subway Sub...
SO..
In the dead of the night, around 3am... we decided to meet up in a few hours at Novena to satisfy that craving.
I just love United Sq and Novena Sq... I don't know why, but it's so comfortable there.
After a really satisfying meal, we went for a walk (pardon the pun lassie).
We talked ourselves into buying a really neat hair gadget each then had tinges of regret later on... Oh k... maybe it was just me...

Then came the heartbreaking part...
We walked into Adidas...
Prices were slashed by at least 30%...
Sitting patiently on the rack was the most darling red sweater ever!
It was like animal mechanism!
One try, and I could hardly bear to take it off.
But it was just too pricey...
Sure I could get it, but I feared regret.
I'm not working at the moment, so my funds are pretty limited.
I could buy the jacket, but I'll have to forgo something else, and what if there was a desperate need for my funds?
I guess it's all to do with priority.
It took a whole lot of discipline to walk away from that.
Lassie, being Essie my Bestie offered to fund part of the cost as an early B'day gift.
Honestly, I was so touched as I sat in the bus, crowded with damp and sweaty secondary school kids.

I could not accept.

Firstly, because it would mean that I was spoilt, not being able to know my limits, indulging my every fancy.
Second...
I think it's a valuable lesson...
Life is such that you have to work hard for the things you want.
I'm not talking just financially here, but also the endless quest for knowledge.
Schools and teachers can only provide so much, it's really up to you to learn more about any subject.
This yearning for extras is what distinguishes the Geniuses from the average student.
In other words, schools and teachers can only bring you to the buffet table. It's really up to you to reach out, pick out, and have your fill.

Let's see what a little motivation can do...

Name it...

Pulling the Plug

When is life worth living?
When you're physically and mentally able?

Which life is not worth preserving?
There is no one on earth able to create a soul...

Do we have a right to decide when we want to die?
Why can't we decide for how long we'll live?

While visiting Jem at the hospital (he went for a dental op, under GA), my Dad bumped into the children of his cousin...
Apparently, this guy had gotten a stroke and was in a coma since the day he fell... approximately a week ago.
Classified medically brain dead, his family were going to pull the plug that very night...

I went to take a look.
The man lying there was not someone I recognised, but what I did recognise was the hiss of a pump, the beeping of a machine, and a gentle sigh each time the air was released from his machine-assisted lungs.
It was like seeing my great-granddad in hospital all over again.

It did not scare me, no... But it did make me wonder what I would like to have done if I were in his situation.
I wrote a will when I was a child... Yes... it was morbid to do something like that, and I don't know why I did it.
It simply stated that I would give my Barbie collection to my cousin and the swing and tent in my room to my brother.
My fortune, a grand total of $4.20 would go to my parents and everything else to whoever came to my funeral.

Sure... it might have been childish, but what came at the end was more mature.
I stated that I did not want to live if I was paralysed or mentally less able.
Nothing to do with money, because as a kid, all my medical expenses was paid for by the government, but because I did not think life would be any fun that way...

If I were to make a will at this time and age, it would differ slightly...

Everything would go to my parents.
My savings would go to my Brother's education fund.
And...
I still would not want to live if I was paralysed or mentally less able.
And...
I would add...PS: Feel free to pull the plug. I promise I won't come back to visit.

I just think that since medical expenses are sky-high in this day and age, it really is not worth keeping 1 coma patient alive and letting the rest of the family suffer emotionally and monetarily. I'm speaking for myself.
I know that it is a painful and difficult position for any family to be in.
They'll always hope.
And hope, is a powerful thing.
Faith, is a powerful thing.

Let's wrap this morbid discussion up....

Here to visually entertain...

Felt like giving some visual entertainment today...
Endless words can get a little trying on the eyes...
Here goes!

Another cousin of mine just got married.
I swear... they do it all at once. It seems that way...all the cousins decide to get married at around the same time!
Was fooling around with sepia-mode after helping with the ushering...

*In an announcer's voice*
"First up, this fine specimen, named the wide-eyed shocked expressioner"
"They grow to a height of 1.83m..."
Well... this is Gaston.
The cousin I grew up with.
We're the same age, only he was born on the 31st of December!
(Bestie... he looks like Chris from SIM here)















Moving on...

"Next up is the really gorgeous Glennise"
She's Gaston's sister by the way...
I mean the one on the right...















And here is us in living colour!














I was just pigging out and eating my greens...
Gaston, by the way, claims to be Carnivorous...
Won't touch plant matter... (thus the expression of disgust)
















That's that...

I just cleared my aquarium...
Got rid of the jungle of plants in there and the army of snails.
2 different breeds were dominating...
Only my tetras remain...
A little something for keeps though... my plant in a bottle...




















Make that Essence of weed...
Those 'Brands' bottles just come in so useful...

Oh! My! God!

So it has been a million years since I've stepped into Church...
I missed the Sunday-School bond so much, but sadly, not eligible for Sunday School no more...
Youth?
It's usually a follow-up from Sunday School...

In any case, stepping into Church was like a breath of much needed air today.
Today's lesson was about forgiveness and about breaking the cycle of un-grace.
It was something I really needed to hear.
It was something I really needed to learn.
It was something I really needed to put into practice.

Till this morning, I've been harbouring some deep resentment for some people.
I realise now that it does not make me a better person to feel that way.
Forgive and forget...easier said than done.
But, what the speaker said today, about giving up the right 'to take revenge'...
It all made sense.
Even if I did take action, would that be better?
No... It would just be petty.
I would be a hypocrite.

The message really made sense.
God speaks to us through different and amazing ways.
Think SCV, where we channel surf...
Living life is like God teaching us via SCV...
Every channel we watch teaches us something new and different.
Some shows are boring...but we can't deny that we learn from it... even if it's simply never to watch that channel again.

Something else happened... this I call a miracle (you can also call it a blessing).
I was flipping through my bible, to look for Romans 12 (today's chapter) when lo and behold...there was a $50 note wedged into that page!
Oh My God!
OH! MY! GOD!
I was so amazed! So shocked!
I could not believe it!
I don't recall putting any money into my Bible at all!
I won't be silly enough to assume that this would happen every time I open the Bible...
But it was really sweet... I mean, I felt so touched...
It was almost like God giving me a little treat, saying 'Here you go a little something extra'.
Our God is a sweet God...
We all can learn and should learn from him.

Yeap... He's my inspiration...

TEST

test test test

My bed

That... is the state of my bed...
I can almost hear Dad yelling that I should make it, you know, fold the blankets and stuff...
I never actually saw a reason for making the bed.
I mean, at the end of the day, you plonk yourself back on it, in it, make a mess, or a nest of it again, so what's the point of packing?

I think the state in which the bed is in when you get up in the morning tells alot about how you're feeling...

See...

When you're totally bushed, the blankets might be left untouched and the bolster and pillow hardly moved. If you're that tired, I don't think your body would make any unnecessary movements in the middle of the night...

When you're feeling insecure or scared, your stuffed toys would either be on the floor in a neat manner around the bed because you might have arranged them around you the night before, and late-night thrashing might have landed them on the floor, looking indignant.

If you happen to have exams coming up, there would probably be an opened book on your bed in the morning, because, you brought your notes with you to bed, maybe to give yourself peace of mind, because there is no way (and you know it) that you would be able to study on the bed without dozing off...

When you're in love, your bolster would most likely look tortured because of all that hugging, or maybe a stuffed toy would bear (no pun intended) the brunt.

You can also tell what the temperature of your room in the middle of the night is like...

If you find your blankets on the floor, it's way too hot...

If your bed is perfectly made...
Parents beware...
Something is up...
Why else would teenagers bother to pack up unless they have something to hide?
Especially those with Maids or Moms who make their beds for them.

Aww... the state of my bed just means I'm lazy man...

If I'm going to sleep so much in the day, I'm setting myself up for another night of chatting without sleep...
Not the I'm complaining too much...